Making kindling

[daveswoodhauler]

Anyone have a good "gadget" idea for holding small kindling in place when splitting?
Basically, was wondering if anyone had made a "holder" type "thingy"...excuse the verbiage....basically, something that will hold a small log in place, and one can just shear off small bits for kindling....was thinking a holder of some sort...perhaps a hollowed out log, and place the log in the middle so when you start to split it, it will stay in place?

 

[CTBurner]

thumb

 

[Bigg_Redd]

I can't imagine the universe in which such a device would be necessary.

 

[Bubbavh]

Why waste good logs on kindling? I love the fall when our town sends the chipper around to pick up bundles of kindling. It's like Christmas they are all tied up with bows like little gifts left out just for me!

 

[smokinj]

Why waste good logs on kindling? I love the fall when our town sends the chipper around to pick up bundles of kindling. It's like Christmas they are all tied up with bows like little gifts left out just for me!

Now that Rich!lol

 

[deadon]

I have several resources for kindling. Ask around your community for someone who has a hobby or craft woodshop. Several people I know are into making crafts and I collect their scrap cut offs. This makes great kindling and I always have plenty. logs are to valuable to cut up into kindling.

 

[daveswoodhauler]

thumb

Guess I was asking for that one......was asking as last year I lost a portion of a finger due to splitting some small pieces to make kindling....would prefer not to lose my thumb too as I am dexterity challenged.

 

[Girl]

Ouchie!
If there is a local tech type school that has a carpentry program, you could get scrap kindling type pieces for free.
My friend sometimes gets bundles of broken shingles for 5 bucks a bundle at the either the home depot or lowes, thats what she uses for kindling.
They also sell bags of kindling.

I can get a bunch of pallets, pile them up in the driveway & my neighbor will run them over with his tank, fun for the whole family!
Yes, I said a tank.

 

[sly22guy]

We need some pics or even better a video of that
I agree i nearly lost a finger trying to split smaller pieces, just look for a local wood working shop, around here we have a lot of cabinet making shops and they always put out big bins of scrap.

 

[myzamboni]

Take a piece of wood dowel and put a rubber tip on one end and use it as a 'holder' to hold the split upright?

 

[gyrfalcon]

Anyone have a good "gadget" idea for holding small kindling in place when splitting?
Basically, was wondering if anyone had made a "holder" type "thingy"...excuse the verbiage....basically, something that will hold a small log in place, and one can just shear off small bits for kindling....was thinking a holder of some sort...perhaps a hollowed out log, and place the log in the middle so when you start to split it, it will stay in place?

Easy. Use a hatchet and a small sledge. The hatchet edge holds even a tiny spit upright. Set the hatchet exactly where you want to split down, whang the sledge on it and it splits. Of course, then the pieces fly a few yards away, but can't have everything! I find it generally works best with a larger piece to keep splitting in halves until you get the size you want, rather than trying to split small piece off a larger one bit by bit.

I've had no luck finding local places to scrounge scraps of the sort other people mention here, so it's either split down good firewood or buy bags of lumber trimmings from the Aubuchon. I do some of both.

 

[branchburner]

The great thing about a tree is that it contains every size of wood you could possibly need without doing any splitting. If you can't find lumber scraps, look for nature scraps. Dead branchwood is everywhere - it is literally a windfall!
If you don't own land, find a friend who does, or even ask your wood guy if you can wander his. Some guys will chip the stuff, some pile it, but there never seems to be a shortage of twigs and branches that most people consider trash.
Take a few minutes, get a few boxes, get a few kids (optional, but use 'em if you got 'em) and you're in business. I can find enough dry, dead crap in my yard and hedgerows I barely ever make it back into the woods. And if I needed to, I'd find enough branch trimmings and downed trees from the past ten years to keep me in kindling for the next twenty!

 

[guest5234]

Hold them between your feet.

 

[countrybois]

Find an old lawn mower tire, or any other tire that has an inside diameter just larger than the logs you generally want to make kindling out of. You can whack it as many times as you'd like and the tire keeps them all standing up. Use multiple tires stacked on one another if you need extra height, and attach them together with a couple of bolts.

 

[CowboyAndy]

Find an old lawn mower tire, or any other tire that has an inside diameter just larger than the logs you generally want to make kindling out of. You can whack it as many times as you'd like and the tire keeps them all standing up. Use multiple tires stacked on one another if you need extra height, and attach them together with a couple of bolts.

Damn, you took my idea about the lawn mower tire...

 

[burntime]

I have a small axe/maul that I use to split some of the bigger pieces. Most of the time there are hot coals in the stove in the morning so no need for kindling.

 

[gyrfalcon]

I have a small axe/maul that I use to split some of the bigger pieces. Most of the time there are hot coals in the stove in the morning so no need for kindling.

Lucky you. I rarely manage that with my tiny stove, so my my need for kindling is massive, way more than it makes any sense to spend the time and effort required to satisfy by scrounging in the woods, breaking/cutting down, lugging home and storing. As a one-person household, just managing the firewood supply is a major effort. I do scrounge some, but when that runs out, I resort to less pure methods.

 

[burntime]

With the maul you can split a normal split into like 8 pieces in little or no time. I end up doing a little each night when I take our lab out. Otherwise go to a contruction site, the guys will usually give you all the cutoffs. You can cut them up with a chop saw if you have one. Last is the firestarters. The are pricey but do a great job. I use them sparingly. Once the cold hits its burn baby burn

 

[Bill]

I was splitting up some slab wood, I found a cut off trunk that was hollow in the middle. Put the slab wood piece in the hole and whack it with the ax. Use less force or it flies around the yard denting stuff. When I split tiny kindling, I wear a leather glove, and hold the piece by the bottom and split. I use a real sharp hatchet, while sitting on a small stool. Throw the kindling in paper bags and store for winter. For my cabin I start lots of fires from a cold start, so my kindling needs are quite large. I believe I have about 20 bags of kindling split. I actually enjoy doing it, after lunch I fill one bag per day until I feel I have 10 times as much as I need, I guess I like doing it, or is that OCD.

 

[gpcollen1]

A short piece of hollow red maple is sitting in my garage for just that purpose. It works wonders. You also need more than on around b/c mine is seasoned and I beat it up sometimes.

 

[Cluttermagnet]

Sorry to hear about your injury. My safe technique involves holding my axe or hatchet in one hand and the piece to be split with the other. I move the two in unison down against the chopping block until the blade is started and wedged into the wood so it will support the entire weight of the piece. Then I strike the axe and piece as a unit against the block until I get a full split. I rarely swing the hatchet while holding the wood- if I do so I am quite careful indeed. You can't cut yourself if the blade rests against the work piece at all times.



I have gotten copious amounts of great tinder and kindling, simply in the course of normal splitting of rounds and larger splits. All kinds of thin stuff splits off and falls all around. I gather it. Red Oak and Cherry like that is the greatest!

Since I have become a wood burner, I now view all the fallen deadwood in my yard through new eyes. I'm gathering bundles of still sound wood in small piles for later cutting/ chopping into shorter lengths. We have lots of mature trees, so fallen branches are routine here. All I have to do is to exclude the occasional rotten deadwood.

 

[Adios Pantalones]

Get a splitting froe. They work great.

 

[Danno77]

My safe technique involves holding my axe or hatchet in one hand and the piece to be split with the other. I move the two in unison down against the chopping block until the blade is started and wedged into the wood so it will support the entire weight of the piece. Then I strike the axe and piece as a unit against the block until I get a full split. I rarely swing the hatchet while holding the wood- if I do so I am quite careful indeed. You can't cut yourself if the blade rests against the work piece at all times.

This is exactly what I do as well. It doesn't even usually require a two handed swing, I find a good piece of wood with perfect straight grain and hold the axe near the blade (not too close though) just a one handed swing should do it, Maybe not that first split of the log, but the third or so, depending on what you are splitting. Just a tap to set the blade and another swing to split it. Sometimes I get going so good I can let go of a little piece and hit it just before it falls over. I start making piles of kindling when I'm in that mode. Nothing looks nicer next to my fireplace than that rack with big 1/4 splits on top and the little kindling splits in the bottom.

 

[ISeeDeadBTUs]

Don't let the fire go out

 

[Jags]

I take my trusty boy scout whittling knife, grab a log and whittle it down to the perfect size for kindling. It takes a while, and I only get 1 piece of kindling per log, but it works.